


Strong Darling

by girl_in_blue_dress



Category: Peter Pan & Related Fandoms, Peter Pan (1953), Peter Pan (2003), Peter Pan - J. M. Barrie
Genre: Adulthood, F/M, Falling In Love, Family Loss, Growing Up, Heroine's Journey, Illnesses, Neverland (Peter Pan), Novel, Peter Pan References, Single POV, Strong Female Characters, Tragedy, World War I, Writer's Block, Writers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-29
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26100820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/girl_in_blue_dress/pseuds/girl_in_blue_dress
Summary: In the middle of World War I on the British front, Wendy is now 25 and an aspiring novelist.  Preparing for her debut, she writes about her adventure with Peter Pan in Neverland.  When she takes the manuscript to the publisher, he asks her to re-write the novel because he does not think it would sell well.  He suggests that if Peter and Wendy marry at the end of the novel, it would sell better, because everyone likes to read a novel where the heroine is married at the end.  Wendy resists the idea, not wanting to write what never happened, but she takes the opportunity to rewrite the manuscript completely before sending it back to the publisher.  Reflecting on her life, from after her adventure in Neverland, leading up to the start of the Great War and eventually the end of it, she struggles to find the inspiration to put her life story into an inspiring novel that will launch her writing career.
Relationships: Wendy Darling/Peter Pan (Peter Pan), wendy darling/oc
Kudos: 4





	1. Denied

**May 31st, 1915**

Wendy Darling had just turned 25.

11 years had passed since her life-changing adventure to Neverland. For the past decade, Wendy wrote several drafts crafting together the story of her adventures with Peter Pan. Once she turned 18, she had been regularly visiting the Tottenham Court Publishers to discuss the publication of her first novel. It had been seven years of refining and scrapping, and today was the day Wendy finally felt her novel was going to see the next step.

But the United Kingdom was embroiled in the Great War. The atmosphere had completely changed, causing publishers to pour most of their funding into propaganda to enthuse the empire about the war effort. With the stiffened competition to get published, Wendy knew this meant it would be a trickier time to publish her novel, which she had titled Peter Pan. There was currently no end in sight for the war, which was why Wendy chose to not post-pone the publishing any longer, and thus she insisted she still meet with Tottenham Court Publishers to discuss her latest draft. The publisher discouraged the idea of discussing its publication in the midst of war, but the head of the publisher, Mr. Hart, struggled to deny Wendy’s persistence.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Hart.” Wendy greeted him as she entered his office, which was right next to the main entrance to the London Underground.

“Ah, good afternoon, Ms. Darling. I was expecting you.” He put on his glasses, and sat up straight on his desk. “Ready to discuss the latest revision?” he asked cheerfully with a bright smile. This was how he usually greeted Wendy, before he’d break the news that he wanted Wendy to revise further. But this time, Wendy was convinced his smile was genuine.

“Oh, I most certainly am!” Wendy sat down at his desk, sitting straight up, waiting with excitement to hear his thoughts. She had a great feeling, based on their last discussion about the next revision, that this was going to be the final one.

“Well, Ms. Darling, let me start with this.” Mr. Hart cleared his throat. “I read the revision, and found it most endearing. As I said before, how marvelous an idea for three children to journey to this fictional land, where children never have to grow up and deal with the troubles of adulthood. I mean, with the country now in war, who wouldn’t find your novel to be absolutely fascinating? Escapist, even?”

“Oh, why thank you, Mr. Hart. I’m pleased to hear you still find that my novel carries relevance. It is my greatest hope that children, and adults perhaps, who read this novel may find a little spark of joy during uncertain times like now.”

Mr. Hart cleared his throat again. “Ms. Darling, I do agree that your novel can give us something to look forward to during troubled times; however, there’s been some recent discussion on our criteria to accept novels for publication.” Wendy suddenly grew cold at this. This was not where she thought the discussion was heading toward. She could feel the rejection coming.

“With government funding us to amass the empire with propaganda, I’m afraid we may have to push your novel back indefinitely.” Mr. Hart’s face fell into a frown of disappointment. This caused Wendy’s heart to stir with defeat, and she too broke into a frown at this, but nodded to show she acknowledged his decision.

“We would love to publish your novel if not for the war; however, we foresee that once the war is over, we’d need a few more years until we can accept something like this.” Wendy nodded, again expressing her reluctant acknowledgment of his decision. “I appreciate the feedback, sir. And I understand, that during times like these, perhaps indulging in a fairy tale isn’t the most appropriate thing to do.”

“Precisely, Ms. Darling. And one more thing. While we wait for this war to end, whenever that will be, I’d like to recommend something to think about for your next revision.”

Wendy restrained the urge to roll her eyes again. Another revision? But didn’t he just praise her work? “Is that so? And what would you recommend?”

“It’s the ending,” Mr. Hart said matter-of-factly. “We think that, if you were to change the ending, we may be more inclined to publish the novel among those of our many author clients. I’m suggesting to you, that the hero and heroine of the story should marry.”

Astounded, Wendy could not digest such an atrocious suggestion. Peter and Wendy marry? But that would go against everything the novel is! “Mr. Hart, that’s not what happened. Peter and the Wendy never married, and they never could. Peter had to stay in Neverland, and Wendy wanted to go back to London to be with her family. It’s important, sir, that they separate at the end.”

“Well…” Mr. Hart sighed, taking his glasses off, and then rubbing his temples. “Perhaps find some way to get Wendy married at the end. Doesn’t have to be with Peter, though we think our readers would love to see the two married after all the tension that is built between the two.”

But Wendy didn’t understand why, all of a sudden, Mr. Hart wanted to see the heroine married. “Sir, would you explain, why after all our revision discussions, the last one being more than a year ago, must I make the heroine married at the end?”

“It’s because, Ms. Darling, the company believes readers will want to see the institution of marriage preserved in writing. Once the war is over, our readers will want to indulge in something nostalgic for the past, and that is the sanctity of marriage.”

But Wendy raised a brow at this. “Marriage, for a children’s novel?” The idea was absolutely absurd!

“I must remind you, ma’am.” Wendy could see the annoyance rising in Mr. Hart’s face. “We do not publish books for children, and we are treating this as a novel for adults about the innocence of childhood.”

“Yes, sir, of course I remember,” Wendy insisted. Prior to meeting with Tottenham Court Publishers, Wendy had courted other publishers aimed at children’s writing, but many found the themes of her novel too dense for children to comprehend. Thus, in order to preserve the themes of her writing, Wendy sought a publisher who would consider a novel targeted not only at younger audiences, but also by adults. “But Peter Pan and Wendy are still children by the time the novel ends. How can any of them marry?”

“Hmmm,” Mr. Hart mused for a few seconds. “That brings me to my next point. We want to see the heroine more developed, perhaps well beyond her childhood years. Why not include some additional chapters on what happened to the heroine, leading up to her adulthood, and her eventual marriage?” Mr. Hart wasn’t one to plant any specific ideas for how to tell a story better. They were always loose suggestions, which Wendy appreciated.

“Well, I must confess I did not foresee having to expand the story to adulthood, so this will be quite the challenge for me,” Wendy said. “In that case, I’ll try to think of something, but I’m most glad that you are still keen on wanting to publish this.”

“Well, times are changing drastically, Ms. Darling. It’s possible tomorrow, with the current state of the world, we may have to deny your novel completely.” Mr. Hart pulled from under his desk the recent draft that Wendy had dropped off to him last week for his review. “In the worst case, something goes horribly wrong, and we may go out of business.” The irony in his tone disturbed Wendy. “That being said, don’t give up hope, Ms. Darling. Your writing is exquisite, and I’m sure with the war not ending anytime soon, you’ll have plenty of ideas to play with for your next revision.” He straightened the stack of papers before handing them back to Wendy. “I’m afraid our time is up.”

Wendy picked up the draft reluctantly. Feeling derailed once more, she forced a fake smile when she held her hand out for Mr. Hart to shake. “Good luck, Ms. Darling. We’ll be in touch soon.” The head of the company stood up from his desk and opened the door for Wendy to exit.

Once she exited the company office, Wendy forced herself to keep her chin up. It was just another revision, and even if it needed to be drastically appended, she was going to treat this next step as a chance for her novel to arrive at perfection.

But perhaps, in the most eerie manner, Mr. Hart had predicted the state of the country correctly, for later that evening, London was bombed by a German zeppelin.


	2. John's Betrayal

**March 30 th, 1912**

Wendy was nearly 22.

It was also the day John, then 18, whose relationship with his family would change its course forever.

A few weeks prior, John had received his acceptance letter to attend Cambridge University to pursue economics. Their father, George, was a Cambridge alumni from the same program, the place that launched his career as a banker in one of London’s most prestigious banks. Being the eldest boy, John was immensely pressed by his father to follow in his footsteps. Unwillingly, John agreed to take some introductory courses at Albemarle College, where he was attending at the time he received the Cambridge admission.

But on the side, John was secretly auditing classes in physics, harboring his dream of becoming a renowned physicist. Unbeknownst to George or Mary, the secret was only revealed to Wendy and Michael, both of whom promised to keep his secret. At the same time, John longed to go overseas to study. Having grown bored of London, and not wanting to be near the countryside that is Cambridge, John particularly had his eyes set on the United States, particularly the Ivy League universities, as having an American education was held in immensely high regard, perhaps more so than a British education. Though Wendy encouraged his love for physics, she never truly believed he would act on this ambition, if it meant going behind Father’s back. Underneath all his ambitions, Wendy knew John was still a family man who was very close to everyone in it. But perhaps, it was just that Wendy and Michael couldn’t bear the idea of John going against Father’s wishes and wanting to hop across the pond, to be separated from them, possibly forever.

On March 30th, 1912, John had gathered his family in the family parlor, where he was reluctantly going to give a statement. He had informed them all via the telephone to meet at the parlor before supper. Mr. Darling left the bank early, and he arrived home with utter cheerfulness as he threw down his briefcases and hastily threw off his coat. “This is it! John’s going to announce to us he’ll be attending Cambridge!” he told Wendy, Michael, and their mother Mary as they were wasting the day away in the parlor. 

“And how do you know that, dear?” Mary asked skeptically. “Well, John’s been hinting at it for many weeks how excited he is to go to Cambridge! I mean, he hasn’t said anything otherwise…” George optimistically guessed. 

At 17:00, John returned home. Unlike George, he slowly took off his hat and coat and put them onto the rack before taking small steps toward his family. “John, darling!” Mary greeted her son, immediately sitting up from the couch. She cupped his face in her pretty hands and kissed him on both cheeks. But there was something odd in John’s reaction to this, Wendy noticed. “I thought you have wonderful news to share with us, but why do you look so sad?” His mother asked.

“Everyone, sit down.” John motioned them all to take a seat, while he remained standing. “I do have wonderful news to share with you all.” Wendy could tell he forced himself to smile. Her hands stiffened. This already did not seem as wonderful as John wanted it to be.

“As you all know, I’m extremely thrilled to have received my acceptance letter into Cambridge. I owe it to Father, for pushing me to excel in my studies so that I could achieve the marks required to be admitted to an academy of such prestige and excellence.” He clasped his hands together, stiffening up. He wasn’t even looking at his family as he was about to say the next thing. “However, I am also excited to announce, today I was accepted into the Physics Bachelors of Science program at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, in Boston.”

George, Mary and Michael gasped at this. “You mean, as in America?!” Michael asked, wide-eyed and dumbfounded.

But Wendy’s expression remained unchanged – anxious and unprepared. She asked herself: _Why did he not tell us?_ His two years at Albemarle College was long how he had asked Wendy and Michael to keep the secret. Yet, he never explicitly told his siblings that he was actually going forward trying for a spot at MIT? 

“Well, congratulations, my dear!” Mary exclaimed. “We always knew how intelligent you are, and to be recognized by another school for your intellect, is no easy feat!” It was only Mother who would be the one to praise John’s accomplishment.

George, unlike Mary and Michael, started with his usual stern voice. “Indeed. What an honor to be admitted into an overseas academy, with equitable prestige as that of Cambridge.” His smile was very subtle. “Regardless, I’m sure with my connections at Cambridge, and the fact that it is closer to home, should make the decision very easy for you.”

“Actually, Father,” John began. “I’ve decided I’m going to move to Boston. All my educational career, I’ve dreamed about becoming a research scientist, a professor even. And now that one of the most prestigious schools in America has accepted me into their Physics program, there’s no turning back for me. I have to go.”

As much as Wendy wished to be supportive of her brother’s decision, she couldn’t help but let the sting that her brother couldn’t trust her with an even bigger secret prevent her from wanting to congratulate him.

Mr. Darling jolted up at this, inadvertently pushing the wooden coffee table that stood in front of the couch. “JOHN!” George’s roar caused Wendy, Michael and Mary to jump, but John remained cold and still. “You’ve got to be joking!”

“I’m not, Father.” John continued to stiffen by clenching his hands into fists. “I’ve already told Cambridge I am declining their offer of admission. And I’ve just informed MIT that I look forward to attending classes with them starting in August.”

“YOU!” On the coffee table was a chess game assembly, and George threw up the chess board, knocking over all the pieces onto the floor. Tossing the board to the other side of the room, George marched forward to John. “After all the preparation and instruction, you do THIS! Years of it WASTED because of your damn childish fantasy of wanting to become a scientist?” George’s finger jolted out to push John with a mighty force, but John stopped him in time. “It’s not some childish fantasy! I intend to make it real! Once I’ve graduated with my Bachelors, I have every intent to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy!” 

Wendy couldn’t believe what her brother was saying. She was so foolish to cast down his dreams of America to really be an unrealistic boy’s fantasy. And now, somehow, he made it come true, and was willing to abandon his family for all of it.

“Stupid boy! Mary!” George turned back to look at his wife, the red of anger rising up to his face. “Do you hear this nonsense?! Our son has no idea how much it will cost him to become a scientist, when he could easily graduate from Cambridge and start bringing in money right away once he starts at a bank!”

“George, not so loud, dear…” Mary’s voice was still soft. “You’ll wake the neighbors.”

“Well, let them hear! Let them hear how incredibly stupid and ungrateful my oldest son is!” He turned back to John. “I won’t finance your education with your decision, so good luck finding someone who will! I’ll tell all the banks of London to _deny_ your loan applications!”

“Actually, Father.” John broke into a smirk. “MIT has offered me a full scholarship to attend. They were most impressed with my academic marks, and thought being an international student, what value I could bring to the academic community!” Soon as he said this, George struck his oldest son in the face. The racket from he slap reverberated throughout the room, silencing the rest of the family who still sat on the couch. “I won’t have anymore of it!” George finally stepped away from his son, walking back closer to his wife and 2 children. “You are not allowed to come back here anymore, John.” George announced. “You have betrayed us by pursuing this stupid dream of yours, and you will only put yourself and us into more economic turmoil.” George reached out his hand to John. Wendy knew he was asking John for the keys to the house. “I want you out of here tonight. Get your things packed.”

“GEORGE! YOU CAN’T!” Mary shrieked. She too now stood up and ran to her husband’s side, clutching his arm to make him stop his bellowing. “Don’t send my son away like this!” Mary was now in tears. 

“Already have, Father,” John replied. Wendy’s heart leaped at this. So John was already ready to leave home, without telling anyone? 

Standing up, she broke her silence. “John, how could you…” Wendy could feel tears pushing to break through her tear ducts. “We’re a family, and we said we’d always be together.” Michael stood up as well. “Brother, listen to Father. Don’t go to America. You belong here with us.” Michael was only 14, still too young to understand the weight of how one’s dreams can ruin those of another, and so the most simple thing he could ask for John was simply to just stay home.

“I was ready to move out before having this conversation. I’ve had it. I’m done being ordered around and not being trusted to chart my own educational path.” He dug into his pockets and placed the keys into George’s palm. “Where will you even stay?” George asked, a hint of reluctance in his tone.

“A classmate of mine has a flat in London, and he’s letting me stay with him in the time being, before I set sail for Boston. Not that you would care,” John answered coolly.

“Oh, my son!” Mary rushed to John and hugged him. “Why do this to your poor mother and siblings? At least give your poor family the time to emotionally prepare for your departure.”

“You tell that to Father,” John commanded sarcastically.

“George!” Mary looked at her husband, angry but teary-eyed. “This is too brash to throw him on the street like this! We should at least talk about it.” 

But before George, Wendy, or Michael could say anything else, John grabbed the same good coat and hat before he said his last words. “Goodbye everyone.” He picked up his briefcase and ran out the door. Wendy and Michael chased him out, but what John had planned was an escape. He had ordered a black cab which was now waiting for him outside, and before his siblings could catch up to him, John threw his briefcase inside and shut the cab door.


End file.
